War and Peace

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is seen clearly in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle -- all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers and placed War and peace in the same category as the Iliad: "To read him ... is to find one's way home ... to everything within us that is fundamental and sane."

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War and Peace deserves its place in the pantheon of the world's greatest books. This translation (Pevear and Volkhonsky) does not. It is an attempt to make the language more modern than it is in the classic Maude version. So we have Russian officers yelling the very American, present day command "Ten - HUT" on the battlefield, instead of "attention". A sabre in the hands of a Russian hussar becomes just a sword. In the Maude version someone who bows obsequiously becomes someone who simply bows. A new adjutant "turns red" instead of "... with a flushed face....". In short, this version strips away much of the 19th century charm of Tolstoy's style. It modernises (and in many places dumbs down) some vocabulary and sentence structure in jarring, odd ways. The Maude version remains by far the best. It was done in Tolstoy's lifetime, and he gave it his approval.

I’ve always thought this would be a daunting and difficult read – and it wasn’t. It was actually a very interesting look into Russian life during Napoleon’s time. He shows the upper class, lower class, peasants, soldiers of all ranks by weaving an exciting and interesting story. The characters are dynamic and portray Russian society at all levels. Even the names of the characters are fairly easy to follow – for a Russian novel anyway. I was very pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this book was, and I highly recommend it! (submitted by NB)

" On the 3rd of March every room in the English Club was abuzz with conversation and the members and guests, resplendent in uniforms or morning dress, some of them even with powdered hair and wearing Russian kaftans, were like busy bees in springtime, coming and going, siting and standing, settling together and flying apart. Powdered and liveried footmen wearing stockings and buckled shoes stood at every doorway, anxiously watching for the slightest gesture from a guest or member so they could offer their services. Most of those present were old and distinguished people with beaming, confident faces, podgy fingers, powerful gestures and strong voices." "Like any good valet Tikhon had a flair for following his master's thought." " Julie would go to her harp and play Boris the most plangent nocturnes. Boris would read aloud to her, more than once breaking down half-way through Karamzin's romantic story, POOR LIZA, choking with emotion and unable to continue."

This book requires great patience due to its length. Don't look at it as a book with 1000 pages. Read 20-30 in a sitting. There are really three separate grades for this book. First, the development of the Tolstoy fictional characters I found somewhat boring. For a book almost universally lauded as a great Western classic, I was disappointed in this aspect. Second, his description of historical characters (such as Napoleon and Kutuzov) and the Napoleonic Wars was enjoyable and utterly first rate. Finally, his analysis of the ways of the historian (as a profession) is fascinating...although I disagree with several of his conclusions. Overall, 4 stars seemed appropriate.

With Napoleon declaring war on Russia, this book focuses on families of different backgrounds. With a wide variety of characters the book covers the grand scheme of things, however, it was incredibly lengthy. As loved as it was, I had the author interrupting the story to add in his own commentary on the historical events.
- @Florence of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library

This book got me interested in the Napoleonic wars with Russia for the first time, much in the same way that Gone With the Wind encouraged me to learn more about the American Civil War.

This book strangely reminded me of the Game of Thrones series - a lengthy epic full of rich characters whom you fluctuate between loving and hating.
Man, I really hated Nikolai and Princess Marya for most of the book and then they both did something I admired, then I hated them again at the end!
The treatment of cat-like-Sonya, my favorite character, is one of the biggest upsets in Classical fiction in my opinion.
Also, the War parts are as good as, and often better than, the Peace parts - which I did NOT expect. In fact I was convinced to read this largely because it was described to me as "a large bit of it takes place in drawing rooms." My favorite scene in the whole book was this description of this small Russian artillery unit shelling this little town in the middle of this awful battle, whose soldiers then got into trouble for disobeying orders even though you can tell Tolstoy thinks they were the participants most worth admiring.
Tolstoy interrupts his narrative often to comment and criticize on history and the study of history and how we remember history, which I found interesting. Did I mention I listened to this on audiobook? 60 HOURS!

Summary

This translation of War and Peace gives life to one of the best pieces of literature written by Leo Tolstoy. Anthony Briggs does a great job choosing words to convey what is being said, and nothing is vague or hard to understand. This is by far the easiest to read and understand copy of War and Peace that I have come across.